


The Warmth in Our Bones

by i_write_shakespeare_not_disney



Series: Angsty/Fluffy/Smutty Klance One Shots from Tumblr [7]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Tumblr Prompt, crushing?, friends - Freeform, klance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-01
Updated: 2018-02-01
Packaged: 2019-03-12 03:16:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13538532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_write_shakespeare_not_disney/pseuds/i_write_shakespeare_not_disney
Summary: Keith and Lance are off on a mission, and have to deal with grudges and freezing temperatures.





	The Warmth in Our Bones

Of course Lance would end up with the short end of the stick. Pidge got to go to a sunny little planet full of plants and small aliens with Hunk, and Shiro and Allura got to visit a planet inhabited by wary though kind aliens on a rocky terrain.

But him? He ended up with Keith on a planet that was barren and cold and the aliens there were so regal and intimidating, Lance didn’t care that they were friendly. He was cold and he was scared and he was tired.

Keith was in his Blade suit, shoulders hunched against the cold. Lance shot him an angry sideways glance and then trudged ahead. He at least wanted to walk faster than him. So what if Lance was used to warm weather, temperatures reaching the low 100s in Fahrenheit and the lowest in winter being the mid-60 degrees while Keith was used to drastic desert temperatures? He was _Cubano,_ dammit, and Cubans didn’t whine and pout over a little cold.

A few paces forward and Keith caught up to him. The cold was seeping through the thermal fibers of his nylon suit. Lance felt his muscles tensing, like they were trying to contain whatever leftover heat they still had. His face felt like it was numbing.

“You’re not still mad at me are you?” Keith asked, his voice tight, but his face impassive. His eyes flickered over to Lance. Lance responded by pointedly looking away, scowling, and trying to walk quicker. “Lance, come on. You’re being unreasonable. What else was I supposed to do?”

“ _I’m_ being unreasonable?” he snapped, turning back to face Keith. “This is the second time, Keith. The first, yeah okay I understood why you….” He couldn’t say the words. Nope. “It was stupid, still, but when you explained… I got it. I didn’t like it, but… it made sense.”

The entire group had been upset at the knowledge that Keith had almost sacrificed himself for them. Everyone had turned to him, chiding him for being so impulsive, but Keith had made a very good point in saying that the only other alternative was for Voltron to be destroyed. At this stage in the war, no one could afford that. Lance had still been upset, but he had to give him a pass for the reasoning.

“But this time? This time, you were being stupid!” he yelled.

“Stupid? What part of what I did was stupid, Lance?” he asked, his voice strained.

“All of it!” He walked away from him and turned back, fueled by the adrenaline of the cold rushing about him and the frustration he’d let build up. “You could still pilot Red if you came back. You didn’t have to go in for me, because then we really would’ve lost a red paladin, and as much as Coran really wants to pilot Red, I don’t think it’s gonna happen.” Keith rolled his eyes and fixed Lance with a glare. “I knew the danger I was getting into. I knew there was a chance I….” He gulped and turned away, walking again.

“Lance, I couldn’t just let you die. And we both made it out alive, so what-”

“But at what cost, Keith?” Lance looked at him, unable to keep his eyes from trailing down his arm.

He couldn’t see it because of the suit, but Lance knew what was under there. He knew that from his elbow down, there were pieces of white and silver steel filled with wires and with a small Pidge icon engraved right at the elbow joint. He knew that his fingers weren’t long and pale with scars across them anymore. They were metal and cold and the knuckles were a light blue because Pidge had to incorporate something for dexterity. He knew it made Keith unhappy because, since it had been his dominant hand, he had to get used to using his dagger all over again.

“A cheap one,” Keith snapped, tugging Lance along.

“Bullshit.” Keith’s grip tightened. “Where are we going?”

“To find shelter because we’re not cut out for this. See if you can get Red to come to you. If we can at least find a cave, she can block the entrance and we can warm up before reaching that stupid ice palace.”

Lance grumbled, letting Keith lead him closer to the large expanse of mountains that looked unreal up close. Keith scavenged along the edges, a decent amount of miles away from the actual mountains and clambered over icy rocks and jagged edge until he found a decent cave.

He helped Lance up which was harder because Lance felt like he didn’t have decent control of his limbs with the stiffness in them from the cold. Eventually, Keith used his Altean tech arm to haul him up and kept his grip around him as Lance steadied himself.

“I’m good,” he said uncertainly. Keith stepped away from him and walked into a cave. It was dark, and it smelled weird, but it was significantly warmer. There was no wind trying to rip the skin off his bones.

“Call Red,” Keith reminded in a monotoned voice.

“Right.” He shut his eyes and tried to reach that connection with his lion. Keith’s lion. His. Whatever.

 _Hey Red, we could use your help right now. We’re cold and hiding. Guardian of the fire spirit could really be helpful._ Nothing. Lance sighed and opened his eyes. He noticed that Keith was gone. He turned frantically searching for him only to find him a ways into the cave, scouting for rocks and rubble. He had torn through his suit to use his Altean arm for light.

Lance felt his heart twist as the flashback filled his mind again. Lance trying to get the sick out from a shabby little space hospital, Hunk’s voice on the comm telling him there were Galra fleets heading for him, Lance being stubborn and continuing his work, determined to save as many as he could before his time was up.

And then Keith breaking ranks from the Blade who were already retreating to set up a proper defense, tugging Lance along, ignoring his protests. But Lance had pulled free and as the Galra fleet came down and nurses had gone running in a panic, the screams and wails of the sick filling the air as the ion beams shot down what was left of the hospital, he’d rushed into the rubble to pull a few more innocents out.

There was a scream on his comm, and then an explosion that left Lance’s ears buzzing before everything went black.

Later he found out the scream had been Keith, that Keith had gone after him and hauled him out despite the rubble. And there had been a series of explosives that went off. One had been too close to them and Keith had taken most of the effects by shielding Lance. It resulted in the loss of his forearm and hand.

Lance had a mission. He had to stay. Keith didn’t have to go back for him and he did and they were both in danger and…. And now Keith was still keeping him safe.

_We gotta protect him too, Red._

There was quiet for a while before a loud rumble had reached them and Keith came rushing back to his side, smiling widely at the sight of Red settling just outside the cave entrance. Heat radiated from her, and Keith and Lance couldn’t help but settle down near her.

“Nice job,” Keith said, an honest smile on his face.

But Lance didn’t think he should be smiling at him. He didn’t deserve that.

“Why aren’t you angry with me?” he asked suddenly.

“What?”

Lance sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “It’s my fault. Your arm. I stayed even though Hunk warned me, and…. Why did you come back for me?”

“Wouldn’t you have done the same for Hunk? Or Pidge?” he asked.

Lance looked at him and then away, the guilt tightening his chest until he felt like he couldn’t breathe. “I’d have done it for you too.” It was quiet for a while and Lance looked at him. “But Keith, I’m just one guy. Voltron could’ve gone on if something happened to me, but then you went-”

“I wasn’t going to leave you behind,” he snapped. “What, you think I could live with that? Knowing I left you behind, left you for dead? Lance, I don’t know what your deal is. You go from being this cocky guy that reminds everyone he’s the fucking king of the universe, and then you turn around and make yourself seem like you’re just leftover scraps, like you’re unimportant.” Keith kicked at his foot, hard enough to show his anger, but not hard enough to hurt. “You’re not expendable, Lance. And I don’t know how long it’s going to take you to realize how important you are to your friends, to your family, to Voltron, to the fucking universe…. To me.” Lance’s lips parted in surprise and Keith scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Don’t give me that puppy look. Yeah. You’re important to me.

“You didn’t blink when you found out I was Galra. You treated me the same, not like I was fragile or dangerous. You encouraged me to lead Voltron and you helped me… be better at that. At being a leader and a person and a friend. You’re a pain in my ass sometimes, don’t get me wrong.” Lance made an indignant sound, but Keith waved it away. “But you’re also one of the most important people in my life. And I don’t have a lot of people in my life. My arm or your life- it’s no contest. So stop trying to throw your life away, stop trying to make yourself seem like less than you are. Alright?”

“Alright,” he answered, his voice hoarse. There was a low hum from Red that sent another relieving wave of heat through the cave. Lance scooted closer to Keith until he was sitting beside him, shoulders pressed together.

“What are you doing?” Keith mumbled.

“Survival 101. In cold weather you huddle like penguins.” A beat of silence. “Also… everything you said made me want a hug, so….”

Keith scoffed and shook his head.  He didn’t move for a while, but then his arm went around Lance’s shoulders.

“Figures we get the inhabitable planet that gives us hypothermia,” Keith said as Lance huddled closer.

“Eh,” Lance shrugged. “I’d rather be here with you than anyone else, Mullet.” Lance peeked up at him and swore he saw Keith blushing.


End file.
